


Cold Comfort

by DrawnToDarkness



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Primeval
Genre: Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-16
Updated: 2013-11-16
Packaged: 2018-01-01 18:27:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1047150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrawnToDarkness/pseuds/DrawnToDarkness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jess is caught up in a SHIELD investigation and gets taken aboard the Bus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cold Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> .. I have no idea where this came from, really. I just love and adore Jess/Becker and am growing to love and adore Skye/Ward and since Jess and Skye would so kickass together, not to mention Becker and Ward (and how much would I love to see those two go up against each other in a sparring session... yum...) ... well, anyway, this just sort of happened. I'm sorry.
> 
> Takes place after series five for Primeval and after episode 1x05 for SHIELD.

**

Hurrying through the near deserted streets, head bowed to protect her face from the onslaught of cold rain beating down on her, Jess Parker cursed the run of bad luck that she'd been struck with that morning.

Her car had refused to start, leading her to have to call a taxi to take her to work as Abby and Connor, her former flatmates, had moved out a few months ago and now lived on the opposite side of the city. After paying the extortionate fare, she'd been left with no change in her purse, which meant she'd been unable to get lunch from the canteen as planned and had instead had to venture out into the city in search of a cash point – just as the skies had darkened and the heavens had opened.

The only good thing about the rain was the lack of a queue at the cash point she'd been able to locale and Jess hurriedly typed in her pin number, stiffening her spine against a shiver as the air around her grew noticeably colder.

Unnaturally colder.

In the screen of the cash machine, she caught a glimpse of an approaching figure and whirled around to face them...

... only to freeze quite literally as the person – man – thing – reached out an ice-covered hand towards her.

Her skin felt cold but she couldn't shiver, her muscles as frozen as the rest of her. Her lips were parted but her cry for help was trapped in her throat as her body refused to cooperate. She glanced down, her eyes the only part of her that would move, and saw the cause of the tingly sensation she felt crawling over her skin – ice, creeping over her skin like mist, crystallising as she could do nothing but watch in fear and horror.

"You'll do nicely," the man with the frozen smile and blank eyes told her, his voice washing over her. "This won't hurt. Much."

Darkness encroached on the edges of her vision as the coldness continued to sweep through her and her lungs struggled to function. His fingers stretched towards her, almost brushing her skin, almost...

"Hey, Jack Frost! Over here!"

She couldn't turn her head to see who had spoken, couldn't do anything but stand there and watch as a blast of flame was aimed at the man in front of her, causing him to howl in fury and pain as he jerked his hand away and began to run.

A man clad almost all in black gave chase and her addled mind thought for a moment that it was Becker, coming to her rescue as he always had done before, until she realised the man in black was a little bit taller, a little bit bulkier than the soldier she'd come to care for more than she was willing to admit.

"Oh, geez. She's freezing." It's only when the other person speaks – a woman, she's sure – that Jess realises she's not alone. She can't feel the hand on her arm but she can see it and can just about make out the glint of a thin silver bracelet on the woman's wrist, just as she can't see the woman standing beside her but knows she's there as the voice – American – continues. "Coulson, we have to help her. We can't just leave her like this."

"No one said we were going to, Skye." Another voice, male this time, and Jess can just about make out the shape of a man wearing a suit as he strides toward them. "Fitz-Simmons were working on an antidote. We'll get her back to the bus and see if it works."

There's movement from beside her and Jess thinks the woman might have nodded. "You're going to be okay," the woman assures her, her voice as soft as Jess thinks the hand on her arm might be if she could feel it. "Don't worry. We'll take care of you."

There's a flurry of activity but again Jess can't turn to see what's going on. She hears a third voice and out of her peripheral vision can make out the shape of the man in black she saw earlier.

"He's gone, Sir. Couldn't catch him."

"We'll find him.  Right now he's not our main priority. Right now we've got to –"

Jess was unconscious before she could hear what the strangers had to do.

**

Fitz and Simmons were buzzing around, talking animatedly to each other as they recorded various read outs from the array of beeping machines situated around the room. Skye was aware of their conversation but wasn't really listening, her attention instead split between the unconscious woman on the gurney she was sitting beside and the silver security bracelet she'd enclosed around her own wrist not more than two weeks ago.

Two weeks.

It felt like so much longer than just two weeks.

Fitz and Simmons had rebounded from her betrayal of their trust, so quickly that Skye suspected the Agents had been briefed about her true motivations. They were so nice to her that it made her eyes sting late at night as she lay in her bunk, not sleeping, just thinking about the people who'd come to mean more to her than even she had realised. She didn't deserve it, didn't deserve the friendship they so easily bestowed upon her, but she was grateful all the same and swore she wouldn't let them down again.

May was the same as ever, which meant she was mostly unreadable. But there was an element of _something_ about her, in the way the older Agent spoke to her, that made Skye think that yeah, the rest of the team had been briefed by Coulson. Though there wasn't an outward display of Agent May thawing towards her, Skye didn't hear the usual edge in the older woman's voice when she spoke to her.

Coulson was... Coulson was disappointed in her. She knew that, and it hurt to think about it. He'd fought to get her onboard and she'd let him down and Skye vowed she'd make it up to him somehow. He'd softened towards her after her confession but there was still something in his eyes when he looked at her – something uncomfortably akin to hurt – that made her want to be the person he'd believed she could be.

The person Ward had believed she was.

Her SO had been avoiding her, and it was his absence that made her heart ache in her chest and her stomach twist uncomfortably whenever she thought about what she'd done. He'd believed in her, trusted her, maybe even started liking her, and she'd betrayed his trust.

He'd never been much for small talk but at least his silences had been comfortable before. Comfortable enough for her to tease and flirt and start to _feel things_ she'd rather not be feeling now, especially as it made it hurt all the more to know she'd blown any chance there might have been for something to blossom between herself and the surly agent.

He still trained her, ever the dutiful agent, but there were no little smiles when he thought she wasn't looking, no glances, no teasing. Nothing but curt instructions and the occasional grimace when she tried to talk to him about what had happened.

She'd tried to apologise but he refused to hear it. Tried to explain but he wasn't interested. She didn't know if he'd had the same briefing she suspected the others had or if Coulson was waiting for her to tell him personally in an attempt at helping her rebuild the fledgling partnership they'd been nurturing...

... But neither Skye nor Coulson were going to get what they wanted unless Ward was willing to listen and that didn't look like it was going to happen any time soon so...

A low moan from the woman on the bed distracted her from her maudlin thoughts. Skye leaned forward in her seat, letting go of the bracelet she'd been playing with to cover the woman's hand with hers.

"It's okay," she kept her voice soothing, using the same tone she'd used to calm down more than her fair share of kids during her time in and between foster homes. "You're going to be okay." Skye glanced over her shoulder when she sensed someone standing there and arched an eyebrow at Simmons. "She is going to be okay, isn't she?"

"She should be. Her vitals look good and the antidote seems to be doing its job so she should be." The female half of the duo that was collectively known as Fitz-Simmons smiled reassuringly, her eyes hopeful. "Do we know who she is yet?"

"Jessica Parker. Twenty-two. Field Co-ordinator at the ARC." The answer came from the door behind them and Skye's shoulder's stiffened at the sound of Ward's voice. "Coulson's making contact with them now as it seems they're pretty frantic about finding her."

Skye's muttered _"must be nice"_ was lost in Fitz's question.

"What's the ARC?"

"Anomaly Research Centre. Classified government facility researching anomalies." Ward shrugged when the scientist duo looked at him, obviously expecting more of an explanation.

"What kind of anomalies?" Simmons wondered aloud.

"Why haven't we heard of it?" Fitz joined in.

The woman on the bed mumbled something incoherent and Skye stood, leaning over her. "Hey, Jess. Can I call you Jess? Why don't you open your eyes for us, yeah?"

"B-Beck..." It was more of a whimper than a word, Jess's eyelids fluttering as her hand moved marginally against Skye's.

"Beck? Is that a person?" Skye glanced at the faces of her teammates and saw they looked just as clueless as she felt. "C'mon, Jess. Try opening your eyes."

For a moment, it looked like would but then Jess was still other than the slow rise and fall of her chest.

"She'll wake up when she's ready," Ward's voice was softer – not to mention closer – than Skye expected and it caused her to tighten her hold on the unconscious woman's hand. "Why don't you take a break? You've been in here all night."

"I'll stay." Her hand tightened over Jess's and she fixed her gaze on the pained expression on the sleeping woman's face. "It's not like I can help be any help anywhere else."

No one argued with her and though she wasn't expecting them to, it made her eyes sting.

**

"The Director of the ARC, James Lester, will be here with a member of his team momentarily," Agent Coulson briefed his team, just outside of the lab that had been turned into a med bay for their unanticipated guest. "He insisted on seeing Miss Parker in person and has insisted that a member of his team remain with her at all times when I explained we couldn't release her into his custody."

"The _Director_ of the ARC? The big boss?" Fitz sounded impressed. "So she's a pretty important person, then?"

"To the ARC and to Mr Lester, yes. And since the ARC is a government initiative and Mr Lester has the ear of one of the Ministers, we need to tread carefully, people. I've explained that what we do is just as classified as what they do but it took quite a lot to convince them that the best place for Miss Parker is with us. And on that note, how's she doing?" Coulson looked at Fitz and Simmons in lieu of the onboard medic, who was still in the makeshift med bay with their patient.

"Not as well as we'd hoped."

"The antidote seemed to be working –"

"—but then the mutated cells began to reassert themselves –"

"—like they were regenerating –"

"— we can keep her stable and counteract it but we don't know how to stop it entirely."

"Which means we need to find Hanson," Simmons concluded. "He's the key to finding out how to reverse it."

"Have we had any luck doing that? You, I mean," Skye corrected herself, knowing she hadn't contributed much to the team's efforts at finding Doug Hanson. She'd like to but the bracelet on her wrist, preventing her from using anything vaguely resembling a computer, rendered her hacking skills useless. "Any sightings of him since he tried doing whatever it was he was doing to Jess?"

"None." Coulson met her gaze evenly. "Do you think you could help with that? Hack into the CCTV feeds and see if you can track him?"

With a quirked eyebrow, Skye held up her wrist. "Without this, sure. With it, you tell me."

Before he could, May announced the arrival of their guests. "Mr Lester has arrived with his security detail."

"Escort them upstairs," Coulson ordered unnecessarily. He straightened his tie as the team exchanged glances. "Fitz, Simmons, back to work. Ward, I want you to brief the security detail Mr Lester will be leaving behind. Keep an eye on him or her. Though I'm sure Miss Parker will be their main priority, you can never be too careful when dealing with another government agency. Things tend to get messy if they go wrong."

"Yes, Sir." Ward squared his shoulders, clearing not happy at the thought of someone he hadn't vetted being aboard the plane that was their centre of operations. "Do we have a name for the security detail, Sir?"

"Becker. Captain Becker." A man in a dark blue suit approached, following May. Behind him was another man, clad in an all-in-black uniform. "He's my Head of Security so I can assure you he won't pose any safety risks. Unless you get keep him from protecting Jess, of course." The latter was said with a wry glance over his shoulder, at the man in black – Captain Becker – who didn't react to the comment.

Skye only partly paid attention as Lester and Coulson introduced themselves and their respective security experts. She studied the Captain standing behind Lester, noting the uncomfortable posture, the carefully neutral expression and the way his gaze never settled for long in one place. Because she was watching him, she caught the moment his gaze landed on the prone form of Jess Parker through the window and saw the glimpse of something in his dark brown eyes before it was masked once again.

"Beck. Becker!" It came to her in a flash and she shrugged when she realised everyone was staring at her. "She woke up, kind of, before. Tried to say something. I thought it was Beck but it wasn't, was it? She was trying to ask for you?"

Becker looked at her but didn't answer. She fought the urge to roll his eyes, guessing he and Ward had gone to the same school of noncommittal expressions.

"Can we see her now?" Lester asked, sounding polite, but there was an underlying note of concern in his voice that the ARC Director couldn't conceal. "You said she'd been infected. Is she safe to be around?"

"As far as we can tell." Coulson's attempt at reassurance wasn't very reassuring. "You can go and see her. Skye?"

"What? Oh, right. Follow me." A little confused at why she'd been given the task, Skye turned on her heel and headed for the door leading to the lab. She noted in the reflection in the glass that Becker was following her first, his boss following. She didn't say anything until she was standing on one side of the bed, watching as Becker immediately took up position on the other side, his attention focused solely on the unconscious woman. "You could try speaking to her," she suggested quietly. "It might help if she hears a familiar voice."

Becker glanced at her briefly before reaching out to take Jess's hand, his movements almost hesitant. Skye studied him curiously, certain the show of emotion on his face – fear, pain, and something she suspected could be love – was one he couldn't control but would've wanted to had he been aware of it.

"Jess?" His voice was softer than Skye had expected, a note of tenderness in it that made her have to clench her jaw to keep back a wistful sigh. Had anyone ever looked at her that way? At a slight movement, her gaze was drawn to where the Captain held Jess's hand and she saw his thumb moving tracing slow circles over the sleeping woman's knuckles. "Come on, Jess. Wake up for me."

Skye held her breath, looking between the Captain and the sleeping woman. She bit down on her bottom lip – hard – when Jess's eyelids began to flutter to stop herself from making some sort of noise in excitement.

Leaning closer, apparently forgetting that he wasn't alone in the room and had an audience he had in the shape of Skye, his boss, Coulson and Ward, Becker smoothed a strand of hair back from Jess's face, his hand lingering near her cheek. "C'mon, Jess. Don't do this to me again."

Her eyes still closed, Jess's lips parted and a small sound escaped her. She turned her head towards the sound of Becker's voice and her hand moved in his.

"That's it," Becker coaxed, oblivious to anyone else. "Wake up for me."

"Beck-Becker?" Her voice was quiet, almost too quiet to be heard above the sound of the machines beeping around her.

Across the room, Skye heard a sigh of relief and looked up in time to catch a small smile on the face of James Lester before it quickly vanished.

"I'm here, Jess." He did his best to school his features but the smile on his face when her eyes eventually fluttered open sent a stab of envy so sharp through Skye that she inhaled sharply. "Hey."

"Hi." For a moment, the two just gazed at each other, oblivious to everyone else. Then Jess tore her gaze away, her brow furrowing as she looked around at her unfamiliar surroundings and the unfamiliar faces gathered around the bed. "Where... Where are we?"

**

After Jess had been briefed – briefly – Lester and Coulson disappeared into the latter's office to discuss the situation in more depth. Fitz and Simmons made themselves scarce, retreating to their own lab to continue their work when a glare from the Captain at  Jess's side told them their non-stop stream of babbling was annoying him even if the woman whose hand he'd yet to let go of seemed interested in what they had to say.

Ward  lingered somewhere in Skye's peripheral vision, obviously uncomfortable and wanting to be somewhere else but unwilling to leave two of their unexpected guests without an escort. Skye herself had moved a little way away from the bed, under the guise of giving the ARC duo privacy though she could hear every word they said.

"You don't have to stay with me," Jess said softly, her gaze on their hands rather than on Becker's face. "You could send one of your men, or maybe Emily or Abby would come and sit with me."

Becker's tone was as firm as his expression was stubborn. "I'm not going anywhere."

"But your job..." Biting her lip, glancing briefly at Skye and Ward, Jess cut herself off. "You're needed out in the field, Becker. If there's an alert..."

"The others can handle it." He shrugged when Jess looked at him, surprise written clearly on her face. "From what Lester's said, you're not out of the woods yet. The person responsible for doing this to you might come back." It was a thought that hadn't occurred to Skye, who glanced over at Ward and saw the confirmation on his face. "I'm not going anywhere, Jessica."

"Becker." Shaking her head, Jess looked confused. "We're not used to dealing with this kind of thing. These people are. If he comes back... I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire because of me."

"That's not your decision to make. It's mine, and Lester's." They stared at one another again for a long moment, earning an eye roll from Ward and a sigh Skye couldn't hold back. Becker looked up after a moment, his cheeks flushing lightly when he noticed they weren't as alone as he'd let himself believe.

The transformation was almost instantaneous and interesting to watch. He straightened, schooled his features and became the consummate professional – consummate soldier, if Skye understood his rank properly.

"You're supposed to brief me, Agent Ward?" He asked, the softness fading from his voice as a professional, almost curt, edge took its place.

"Whenever you're ready, Captain." Ward matched him in tone and volume, his own features arranged in what Skye was privately – and sometimes not so privately – classing as his robotic look.

Though obviously reluctant to leave Jess, Becker motioned for Ward to precede him out of the room and, after a short pause in which he glanced at the Field Co-ordinator and gave her what Skye guessed was supposed to be a reassuring nod, followed the SHIELD agent out.

Finally left alone with the conscious Field Co-ordinator, Skye moved forward, a smile on her face as she held out her hand. "Hi. I'm Skye. It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Jess. But then you know that." Her smile a little bit nervous, the brunette took Skye's hand in hers. "Am I allowed to ask what you do with SHIELD or is that one of the classified questions I'm not supposed to ask?"

"You can ask. And since I don't know how much longer I'm going to be with SHIELD, I suppose I can answer. I'm the rookie, the hacker and Miss Unpopular around here. Consultant and Agent-in-training, though whether that's still going to happen, I don't know." Skye shrugged a shoulder at the questioning expression on Jess's face and forced a smile instead. Feeling like it'd be too easy to unburden herself to this woman – reminding herself Jess was still a stranger, no matter how much time she'd spent at her bedside in the last twenty-four hours – Skye decided to fall back on a tactic that rarely failed her in the past: she turned the tables. "So what's the ARC and what does a Field Co-ordinator do?"

Jess smiled, a genuinely friendly smile even though it was a little weak. "The ARC is the Anomaly Research Centre. I'm afraid I can't tell you anything more than that. Lester's orders. As for what I do, I'm pretty much a hacker, too. I coordinate our teams when they're out in the field and a big part of that is hacking security systems and CCTV cameras. And then there's the admin side of the job but that probably won't be of interest to you." There was a short pause and something akin to concern shone in Jess's blue eyes. "Why do you think you'll be leaving? They're not – they're not bad people, are they?"

"No, no. Nothing like that." Skye shook her head, hoping to allay Jess's concern. "They're good people. The best. That's why I probably won't stick around. The same can't be said for me."

"I wouldn't say that. I don't remember much about what happened but I think I remember you being there afterwards." Jess's eyes narrowed a little as she tried to remember. "You told me it'd be okay, that I'd be taken care of."

"You could hear me?" Surprised but undeniably pleased, Skye smiled. "I thought you were already out of it."

"Yet you reassured me anyway. That doesn't sound like a bad person to me." Leaning back against the pillows of the bed, Jess did her best to stifle a yawn.

"I can go and leave you alone if you want to sleep," Skye offered. "I'm sure your Captain won't be too long in coming back to keep you company."

Jess blushed instantly, shaking her head in denial. "He's not my Captain. He's a colleague, and a friend."

Skye's eyebrows arched, her expression as cynical as her tone. "He's more than a friend, Jess. Or at least he wants to be."

"You're wrong about that." Jess's smile slipped a little, regret and something Skye was uncomfortably familiar with flittering over her features. "We're not... Becker doesn't see me like that. I accepted it a long time ago."

"How long?" Skye couldn't keep herself from asking and shrugged a shoulder when Jess looked at her in surprise at her forthrightness. "Seriously, I was picking up definite vibes between the two of you. I could've sworn you'd hooked up years ago so how long ago did you delude yourself into thinking he's not crazy about you?"

Unable to keep back a small, startled laugh at Skye's enthusiasm for the subject, Jess shook her head again. "We've worked together for almost three years now. I think I can safely say he's not interested."

Skye felt her jaw drop. "Three _years_? For real?"

"Uh-huh. So if he did have feelings for me, I'd have expected him to have said something by now. Or done something." Jess shrugged as though it didn't bother her but Skye could tell that it did. "Anyway... Changing the subject, have you had any luck finding the person who did this to me? Hanson, was it? Have you tracked him on the CCTV?"

"Slight problem with that," Skye said with a grimace. "I can't exactly try..." Her expression brightened in a second and she stood up before Jess could question her. "But you can, and as long as I don't touch anything... I'll be right back."

Less than five minutes after she'd left the room, Skye returned with a laptop and a triumphant smile.

**

It was such a typical _Jess_ thing to do.

No matter what the situation, no matter who the people, she had a way of making friends in an instant.

Becker just outside of the room, unnoticed on the other side of the glass window, and watched as the two young women huddled on the bed stared intently at the screen of the laptop. Every so often, the woman he'd been told was Skye said something and Jess flashed her a smile before typing away on the keyboard, biting her lip in concentration.

He'd been watching for a while, shaking his head when Skye said something that made Jess smile and Jess said something in return that made Skye laugh.

"If you want some time alone with your girl, you can tell Skye to back off."

Having seen Ward approach in the glass of the window, Becker didn't jump. He did, however, scowl and fold his arms over his chest. "She's not my girl."

"Really?" Quirking an eyebrow, Ward gave him a sidelong glance. "Could've fooled me."

Refusing the rise to the bait – he got enough teasing from his teammates and fellow soldiers at the ARC – Becker reluctantly pulled his gaze away from Jess and shifted so he could look Ward in the eye. "Be straight with me. If you don't find the person responsible for doing this to Jess, for infecting her with whatever it is, what are her chances?"

Ward held his gaze in silence for several moments. "Honestly? I don't know. Fitz-Simmons would be the best people to talk to. They're the brains of the operation."

"But you've seen this before," Becker persisted. "You've done this kind of thing before. From your past experience –"

"Every experience is different. Every mission is different. I get the feeling you know that as well as I do." When Becker only stared at him, Ward sighed and fought the urge to run a hand though his hair. "All I can tell you is the other people this guy infected didn't live very long. He didn't want them to. They died in an instant. What he's done to your girl is different somehow. Fitz-Simmons are trying to figure out how to reverse it and if anyone can, they can."

Becker turned his attention back to the window, eyes fixed on the all too pale form of the ARC's Field Co-ordinator as she chatted animatedly with Skye. "Why is she different? Why didn't he kill her like he killed the others?"

"That's something else we're trying to figure out. And we will, when we find him. I promise." Ward followed Becker's gaze, his jaw clenching at the smile on Skye's face. When was the last time he'd seen her smile like that...? Shaking himself mentally to clear his thoughts, he strode towards the door and into the room, knowing the ARC Captain was following. "Skye. Time for training."

The smile slipped from her face at the sound of his voice and she seemed to shrink in on herself, the vibrancy he'd come to associate with her fading fast. "Um. About that. Jess might've found a clue as to where Hanson's hiding."

" _We_ might have found a clue," Jess corrected instantly. "We tracked him on CCTV from the cash point. Last time he was on camera is by the docks so it's probable he's hiding there somewhere. There's a lot of warehouses, shipping containers..." She shrugged a shoulder and her gaze slid past Ward to land on Becker. "You could show them," she told the ARC Captain. "You know the area –"

"I'm not leaving you here unprotected." Becker's jaw clenched. "I'm sure Agent Ward and his team will be able to find their way."

"It'd be quicker if you went with them," Jess pointed out without missing a beat. "And I wouldn't be unprotected. Skye can stay with me, and you know I'm a good shot, so if there's a gun lying around I can use..."

"I'm not leaving, Jessica." To Ward, Becker said, "I'll give you directions but I'm not leaving."

"Wouldn't have expected you to." Ward nodded. "I'll get the rest of the team. Skye –"

"I'm staying, I know." Skye crossed her arms over her chest and avoided looking at him. "I'll keep out of the way and let you all get on with it."

"I was going to say we'll reschedule your training." Ward waited a beat, half hoping she'd look up at him. She didn't. "I'll go and get the others."

As Ward strode out of the room, Becker moved to stand on the other side of Jess's bed, staring at the laptop screen for want of something to do.

"And you said _you_ sensed vibes," Jess murmured, addressing her comment to Skye. The other woman flushed rapidly and opened her mouth to say something, probably to protest, but closed it without saying a word. "Maybe you don't have to miss out on your training, though. I'm sure Becker could take over. You said Agent Ward had you scheduled for some self-defence? Becker could teach you."

"Not in here, I can't," was the only protest Becker made.

"There's bound to be a gym somewhere." Rolling her eyes at him, Jess looked at Skye. "Isn't there?"

"Downstairs," Skye confirmed slowly. "It's a makeshift gym but it does the job."

"I'm not –" Becker began.

"Leaving me, I know. But I'm sure it won't be taxing for me to come downstairs with you and watch. You never know, I might learn something." Jess's expression was hopeful, almost pleading, and Skye coughed to hide a laugh when Becker's stern expression softened noticeably.

"We'll ask Agent Coulson," Becker relented. "But if he says you have to stay in bed..."

"I'll stay, I promise." Jess gave him a sweet smile and the Captain was done for, much to Skye's amusement.

**

Coulson took Jess's side, much to Becker's frustration and Skye's disbelief.

"You have to teach me how you do that," Skye told Jess as they slowly made their way down the steps to the makeshift gym in the plane's hangar, Becker silently supporting the Field Co-ordinator on the other side.

"What did I do?" Jess wondered, finding she needed to concentrate a lot more than she was used to on getting down the narrow steps. Her coordination was off, her limbs still feeling heavy and unwieldy.

"Sweet talked both Coulson and Ward into this with just a smile and the flutter of your eyelashes," Skye answered without hesitation. "Now, I know I'm good, and I can be persuasive when I want to be but usually there's a lot more flirting involved and sometimes some flesh has to be flashed before I get the answer I want. You just... asked."

Before Jess could answer, Becker made a noise that could've been a snort. "It's a talent. You should see her with Lester."

"Hey!"

"What? You're denying your Lester's favourite?"

"No, but that's just because I don't get into trouble as much as the rest of you. I actually make his job easier. You – you like blowing up buildings and giving him a headache."

"One building, Jess. One building, one time and there was no other way of controlling..." Becker's voice trailed off. He'd like to think it was because he caught himself in time before saying something he really shouldn't in front of Skye but if he was honest with himself, it was the sight of the knowing smirk on the olive skinned woman that made him stop. "What?"

"Nothin'. Just those vibes again." Skye shot Jess a meaningful look Becker didn't understand but Jess obviously did as her pale cheeks quickly coloured. "You know we don't have to do this. We can just tell Ward we did and go and watch a movie or something."

Becker's smirk was amused. "You don't like the self-defence aspect of your training?"

"I don't like most aspects of my training," Skye admitted with a shrug. "But I particularly don't like the gazillion sit ups and pull ups and press ups and whatever-else-ups Ward likes to make me do before we get started. His idea of a warm up is most people's idea of a year's work out condensed into half an hour. Or a lifetime, really. He's a little bit sadistic."

Jess coughed but Becker could've sworn he'd heard her say the word 'vibes' beforehand. Skye aimed a half-hearted glare at her, too, but the Field Co-ordinator fixed an innocent expression on her face as they finally made it down to the hangar floor. "Becker won't be so mean. Maybe. Though some of the drills he puts his men through can be pretty sadistic."

"One, I am still here. Two, how do you know about the drills?" Becker arched an eyebrow as he helped her into the chair Skye wheeled from a small lab-like area just off from the makeshift gym. "Unless you're admitting you use that computer of yours to spy on your colleagues..."

"I admit nothing of the sort, Captain." Her smile was deceptively innocent but the receding blush returned with a vengeance.

Becker only smirked at her and, after one last once over to make sure she was as comfortable as she could be, turned to face Skye. "Basic hand to hand okay with you?"

Skye smiled. "Basic sounds good to me."

**

There was something not quite right about the situation.

Although he trusted Jess and even Skye to a degree – he had no reason not to, really, as it wouldn't be in either of their interests to send him and the team on a wild goose chase – Ward couldn't help but feel there was something wrong with what they were doing.

The docks were quiet.

Too quiet.

And the air... it was a pleasant evening, cool but not as cold as he would have expected if Doug Hanson was somewhere in the vicinity.

The man Skye had nicknamed Jack Frost was another one of Centipede's pet projects gone wrong. The shady organisation seemed to excel at finding those few extraordinary individuals who not only had extra _talents_ , as their SHIELD files put it, but seemed to succeed in being able to pinpoint the ones that would be easily manipulated.

They'd been tracking him for almost a week, following him all over the United Kingdom as he left a trail of frozen bodies in his wake. It seemed everyone he thought had done him wrong over the years was fair game, which is why his seemingly random choice of victim in Jess Parker had thrown them for a loop.

Not that he'd killed her. No, what he'd done to her was something different. Something they couldn't figure out...

... and something that bugged him as he searched the shipping containers stacked in the industrial area.

_"Ward, you find anything?"_

"Negative."

 _"We're not finding anything with the D.W.A.R.F's, either."_ Fitz sounded disappointed; the flying drones were his favourite tools when processing scenes in the field.

 _"There's a minimal trace to show he's been here but if he's still here, he's found a way to disguise his heat signature."_ Simmons shared her partner's disappointment.

"Maybe we should just head back to the Bus. I have a bad feeling about this –"

No sooner had he spoken did Simmons speak up again, her words running into one another as her excitement grew. _"I think we can track him. He's leaving a trail of sorts behind, frost particles too small to detect with the naked eye. Give me a moment and we should be able to..."_

There was a little bit of mumbling, Fitz-Simmons exchanging technical jargon at high speed, far too quickly for Ward to be able to decipher more than one word in four and even then, he barely understood the words he heard clearly.

 _"There! Got him! Just give me a minute... Oh."_ Fitz's gulp was audible. _"We should probably head back to the Bus..."_

"Why?" Even as he asked, Ward broke into a jog, heading towards the SHEILD van.

 _"Because that's where Hanson's going,"_ Simmons told the team quietly.

Where their ARC visitors were supposedly safe.

And where Skye was supposedly out of harm's way.

Ward tried to tell himself that the quickening of his heart was down to a surge of adrenaline and nothing more.

**

Watching them spar had been fun at first. It'd taken her mind off the headache she'd had since waking up and Jess had found herself enjoying the view as Becker's black t-shirt had begun to cling to him as he worked up a sweat. Her admiration hadn't gone unnoticed, either - at least not by Skye, who winked at her behind the Captain's back.

But then she'd started to shiver and Jess wasn't able to distract herself from the way she felt any longer. Still, she didn't draw attention to herself, not until the bottle of water she'd been taking slow sips from to try and control her nerves literally froze in her hands, falling to the floor with a thud as a gasp escaped her.

Almost immediately, Becker was at her side. He crouched on the floor at her feet, his hands moving to cover hers where they shook uncontrollably in her lap.

"Damn it, Jess. You're freezing." His hands felt hot on hers – almost uncomfortably so but Jess didn't pull away. "Why didn't you say something?"

"He's close. I-I can feel him. In my head. Oh, god, it's so c-cold." Her teeth were chattering, unrelenting shivers working their way along her spine. Jess didn't protest when Becker gathered her against his chest, instead pressing herself even closer as he stood with her in his arms.

"Let's get her upstairs," Skye murmured, her voice quiet but concerned. She held the water bottle she'd picked up gingerly in the towel she'd wrapped in it, sure Fitz-Simmons would want to take a look at it when they got back. "I'll try and contact the others when we've got her settled."

Becker wasted no time in taking Skye's advice and it wasn't long before Jess found herself back on the gurney she'd woke up on, blankets thrown over her in an attempt at chasing away the chill that seemed to cling to her bones.

"How are you feeling?" Becker asked her quietly, stroking her hair back from her face as Skye went to fetch more blankets from elsewhere on the plane.

"Like I'll never be warm again," Jess answered honestly. "I feel like I'm going c-crazy. I can feel him in my head. I can't... I can't h-hear him but I can sense him if that makes any sense and I know he's getting c-closer."

"He's not getting anywhere near you, Jess. I promise."

She wanted to believe him but the cold knot of fear in the pit of her stomach kept her from doing so. "I don't want you to get hurt. Any of you."

"The only person getting hurt is the one who did this to you." Becker's hazel eyes hardened with determination. He helped relieve Skye of the armful of blankets she returned with, the two of them making short work of wrapping them around the shivering woman on the bed. "Any better?"

Jess tried to smile reassuringly but wasn't very convincing. Skye met Becker's gaze over her head and arched an eyebrow when the soldier looked at her.

"I'm no expert but I've always heard body heat is a good way to keep someone warm." The SHIELD consultant smiled sweetly. "Why don't you take care of that and I'll go call the others?"

**

Leaving the room before Becker could argue, Skye headed to the living room area of the plane to make the call. It wasn't really necessary; she could try raising them over the radios just as easily from inside the lab-come-med bay but she decided to give the would-be a couple a moment or two alone.

Of course, that didn't stop her from watching through the glass window, a smile playing on her lips as the Captain hesitated for only a moment before slipping under the mountain of blankets and almost disappearing from view as he lay down with the Field Co-ordinator.

As she reached a hand up to activate her comm. link with the rest of the team, two things happened.

The first was Ward's voice, as frantic as she'd ever heard it, came through loud and clear. _"Skye, do you read? We're on our way back but we think Hanson's heading your way. Stay close to Becker and Jess and whatever you do, don't try and engage him on your own. Skye, do you copy?"_

"I copy," Skye answered slowly, her eyes widening as she focused on the second thing. "And I can confirm that theory is correct."

As Ward cursed and snapped at May to drive faster, Skye let her hand fall to her side and stared at the man in front of her.

"You should know that the others are on their way," she told him quietly. "And you should know that there is no way in hell I'm letting you anywhere near her."

A cold smile curled the corners of Hanson's blue tinged lips. "You think you can stop me?"

"I'm willing to die trying." She squared her shoulders and edged towards the door of the lab, her gaze fixed on Hanson's as Ward cursed a blue streak  - some words in a foreign language but the tone clued her into their meaning - in her ear.

"That can be arranged." Hanson took a slow step towards her and she noticed the difference in the air temperature for the first time. "Just give her to me and I won't hurt you."

"That's not going to happen." Skye took another step backwards, a shiver she couldn't control dancing down her spine as Hanson smirked in satisfaction. "Hey, Hanson. What's what behind you?"

It worked, though she hadn't been expecting it to and muttered as much as the ice man turned away, allowing her the opportunity to run into the lab, securing the door behind her.

"You said this was bullet proof glass, right?" Skye asked over the radios. "Does that mean it's strong enough to keep out Jack Frost?"

 _"It'll buy you some time,"_ came Coulson's reply. _"Hang tight. We're on our way."_

Becker rolled out from under the mountain of blankets, his gun in his hand as he stared through the glass at the human icicle on the other side of the window. "That's him? He's the one who did this?"

Jess whimpered as if in answer, clutching her head.

"That's him," Skye confirmed, eyeing Becker's gun. "Don't suppose you've got another of those hiding somewhere, do you?"

Without looking away from Hanson, Becker bent down and unclipped a sidearm from his ankle holster and held it out for Skye. "You know how to use it?"

"If I need to," Skye murmured, holding the gun the way Ward had instructed her. She swallowed hard as the surface of the glass frosted over and the temperature in the room dropped noticeably. "Any time now would be good, guys. Any time now."

_"Almost there, Skye. Just hold –"_

The rest of Ward's reassurance was lost in the sound of shattering glass.

**

Glass breaking, the sound of gunshots and a woman's scream.

Ward was only half aware of Coulson and May on his heels as he raced up the stairs to the main area of the Bus, only half aware of the frost that seemed to cover the floors and walls and ceiling of the plane.

He could still hear gunshots and had the flame thrower Fitz-Simmons had modified in his hands before he'd even reached the lab that had become their patient's resting place.

Shards of something broke under the soles of his boots but he wasn't sure if they were ice crystals or fragments of broken glass.

Didn't care, either. Not when he got his first glimpse of what was going on inside the room.

Becker was slumped to the floor, his face pale and lips tinged with blue. Jess was on her knees beside him, doing her best to rouse him as tears fell from her eyes and froze on her cheeks.

Skye was the one firing the gun, though as Ward turned on the flame thrower, he heard her swear and knew she was out of bullets. He saw her eyes widen, saw Hanson reach out to wrap his hand around her slender neck and –

A cry of pain, abruptly cut off.

Skye slumped to the floor as Hanson whirled around the face him.

"Get the Night-Night gun!" Coulson, shouting an order to someone.

To who, Ward didn't know and didn't care. All he cared about was getting Hanson as far away from the other occupants of the room as possible.

He didn't know how long he'd been using the flame thrower, edging backwards and drawing Hanson with him. All he knew is that it felt like far too long between seeing Skye fall and having Hanson crumple to the floor after May shot him with the Night-Night gun.

Wasting no time, Ward made his way past the fallen man to the ruins of the lab. Simmons wasn't far behind him, hurrying to help Jess with Becker though not before casting a worried glance in the direction of their fallen teammate.

He reached out almost hesitantly, part of him not wanting to know if he'd been too late to save Skye. Relief threatened to overwhelm him when he felt the fluttering of her pulse beneath his fingers.

"She's alive," he confirmed when he noticed Coulson hovering over his shoulder. "Just unconscious."

There was a flurry of activity as Simmons started calling out orders to whoever was willing to listen and follow them. Jess was eased away from the Captain and just as she was about to be left to stand on her own, her knees buckled. Coulson managed to catch her before she hit the floor and Fitz hurried over from where he'd been helping May secure Hanson to take over from their boss, leaving Coulson to help Simmons with Becker.

Ward picked Skye up and carried her out of the room, settling her on one of the sofas in the living area. He hesitated for a moment, knowing he should make himself useful elsewhere but unwilling to leave her.

He wasn't sure if they could trust her but he wanted to. He really wanted to. The woman had gotten under his skin far quicker than he'd anticipated, with an ease that should disturb him more than it did.

A hand settled on his arm some time later, the touch brief but enough to shake him from his thoughts. May gave him a knowing look and a small nod but said nothing, for which he was grateful. "There's a containment unit on the way for Hanson."

"Jess and Becker?"

"Fitz-Simmons are pretty sure they'll be able figure out how to uninfect Miss Parker before the containment unit gets here and Captain Becker is stable." May's gaze slid from Ward to Skye. "How is she?"

"Just unconscious, I think." His fingers itched to check Skye's pulse again but he managed to tamper down on the urge.

"I'll send Simmon's out to check on her." May strode off without waiting for a response and Ward allowed himself to move, crouching down in front of the sofa.

He could just about see her breathing, a strand of hair that had fallen over her mouth moving every so often. He bit his lip and closed his hand around her wrist, the feel of her pulse, stronger than before, reassuring him more than any piece of Simmon's complex equipment that she was going to be okay.

**

He could hear the low murmur of his teammates voices but felt no desire to join in the conversation. Ward stood with his back to the wall, arms folded over his chest as he studied Skye while trying to make it look like he wasn't paying her any attention.

She looked pale, too pale to be on her feet so soon. Though, technically, she was sitting down, her arm around Jess's shoulders as the other woman say at Becker's bedside in a reversal of positions.

"He'll be okay," Skye assured the frail-looking woman with quiet conviction. "He'll wake up when he's ready."

"He needs to wake up now." Her legs pulled up to her chest and her shoulders trembling despite the thick blanket around her shoulders, Jess looked years younger than the twenty-two he knew her to be. "I need to tell him."

"Tell him what?" Skye's tone was curious but not prying. "You don't have to tell me—"

A ghost of a smile curled the corners of Jess's mouth for a few seconds. "I need to act on those vibe you've been sensing. I can't keep putting it off. Even if – even if he tells me he doesn't feel the same way and he wants to forget all about it, I can't keep doing this. I can't keep almost losing him without knowing if there's a chance for us."

A small, almost wistful smile lit up Skye's face in response. Ward tore his gaze away, just seconds her eyes landed briefly on him. He knew, though; he saw it in the reflection of the glass wall of the room. "You should do that. And I don't think you've got anything to worry about with him not feeling the same way. I've seen the way he looks at you. Guy's all kinds of crazy about you. In a good crazy way, not in a scary crazy way."

Jess smiled again. "I hope you're right."

"I am."

There was a momentary silence between them, and Ward watched with interest as Jess let her head rest on Skye's shoulder. They'd become close over the course of the forty-eight hours they'd known each other and he wondered if the friendship they'd developed would last once the ARC team were no longer required to stay onboard.

A slight movement from the prone figure on the bed had Jess getting to her feet in an instant, Skye following a second behind her to reach out and steady the other woman.

"Becker?" Jess asked quietly, her voice tinged with hope. "Can you hear me?"

The man on the bed made a small murmur that could've been a yes before opening his eyes slowly. Ward watched from the doorway, feeling like he was intruding on a private moment, as a relieved smile spread across Jess's face before she leaned in to kiss the Captain's forehead gently, earning herself a tender smile from the man in question.

As the couple – or soon to be couple, Ward suspected – stared at one another in silence, Ward noticed Skye back away quietly. He automatically held open the door for her and followed her out into the living area, noticing for the first time that the others had already left...

... leaving him alone with Skye.

**

They stood in silence for a few moments, awkwardly trying to avoid each other's gaze while sneaking glances at each other.

"So –"

"I –"

Breaking off, they made eye contact. Skye wrapped her arms around her middle and bit down on her lip; Ward fought the urge to stand at attention, a fallback to his earlier days as an agent when it was his default stance for dealing with uncomfortable situations.

"So the containment team will be here for Hanson soon. Fitz-Simmons are pretty sure they'll have found a way to cure Jess and terminate the connection between them before then so she should be okay." It was all things he was sure Skye already knew; she'd been briefed after waking up from her brief spell of unconsciousness. "Their boss is pretty keen for them both to go back to the ARC so I don't think we'll stick around long after that –"

"Will you ever forgive me?" Skye's quiet question cut him off mid-sentence.

Part of him was relieved; babbling wasn't what he did but then his mind processed her question and he wished he'd been able to finish what he'd been saying and make his escape without having to answer. "I –"

"I know I screwed up, okay? I know I shouldn't have protected Miles and god knows if I'd known he'd sold out and deliberately put someone at risk for his own gain, I wouldn't have done but I can't change it, Ward. Time machines don't exist or if they do, they're probably in some god-forsaken vault at SHIELD never to be unleashed on the public but if there was a way of going back and changing it, I would. I would give anything not to let you and the others down again and you can't hate me anywhere near as much as I hate myself for being so stupid and trusting him when really the only person I know I can trust is myself and maybe you guys not to mention putting finding my parents before everything else when why should I when they obviously don't care about me but please say that one day you'll stop looking at me like that because I don't know how much more of it I can take and ---"

"I don't hate you." It was the first thing he managed to make out as her words ran into one another. He frowned, replaying the rest of her speech in his mind as he struggled to decide which part of it they needed to tackle first. Time machine tangent aside – he didn't know if such a thing existed but found himself hoping that if it did, it was kept far, far away from Fitz-Simmons and Skye – he focused on the thing that had surprised him most. "What do you mean, finding your parents?"

He knew she'd spent some time in and out of foster homes, knew she'd grown up in an orphanage, but for some reason he'd assumed that they'd died and therefore she couldn't be looking for them.

Skye tightened her arms around her middle and glanced away for a moment. She took a deep breath and returned her gaze to his face, honesty shining in her eyes. "The reason I joined the Rising Tide, the reason I hacked SHIELD and the reason I joined the team... It's to find out who my parents are. Where they are. I've searched my whole life and the only thing I've ever been able to find was a redacted SHIELD document. Coulson knows. I told him, and I think it's the only reason he didn't kick me out on my ass. I think he's probably told the others because sometimes I catch them looking at me with pity in their eyes and that kind of sucks but at least it's better than disgust or hate or..."

"I don't hate you," he repeated, feeling the need to as he was sure she'd not heard him the first time. "I don't – didn't – understand how you could do it but I don't hate you, Skye. Betrayed, hurt, disappointed, yeah. All of the above. I still... It still pisses me off that you chose the Rising Tide over us –" _'that you chose Miles over me'_ went unsaid but ran through his head, causing the tips of his ears to burn but Ward ploughed on regardless – "but I get it, in a way. You were being loyal, though those loyalties were misplaced and I sure as hell hope they won't be again –"

"They won't. I've cut all ties to Rising Tide. And to Miles." She was quick to reassure him, her tone insistent and, Ward thought, genuine, not to mention a little desperate. "I won't make the same mistake again and I swear, if you let me, I'll make it up to you."

"It's not me you have to make it up to," Ward protested.

"Yes, it is. You're the one who trusted me, you vouched for me with Coulson and it's the first time anyone's ever done that. I haven't – I won't forget it."

He didn't doubt it – both that it was the first time someone had gone to bat for her or that she'd never forget it. He just wished, for both of their sakes, that they could forget everything that had happened afterwards.

"Give me time," he found himself saying, lifting a hand to run it through his hair. "Just – give me time."

"You'll forgive me?" She bit her lip, hope shining in her eyes.

He thought he already had, but wasn't ready for her to know it. "I will."

A smile spread across her face, bright and blinding, sweet and far more innocent than he'd ever thought Skye could look.

Before he could act on the impulse to do something he suspected he might at least partially regret, like grab her and kiss her the way the little voice at the back of his mind was telling him to, there was a shout and a crash and all hell broke loose on the SHIELD plane once more.

**

Hanson was one determined son of a bitch, that much was certain.

The effects of the Night-Night gun wore off far quicker than they were anticipating and he fought his way out of the containment room and back to the main living area of the Bus. Coulson and May both tried to subdue him but their efforts failed. The tranquiliser gun Coulson was using had no effect and May's attempt at engaging Hanson in hand-to-hand combat sent the experienced agent crashing into the nearest wall and slumping to the floor, obviously unconscious.

As the team leader hurried to check she was okay, Ward pushed Skye behind him, towards the recently restored room, and pulled out his sidearm. He fired shot after shot at the approaching ice man, swearing under his breath as each bullet seemed to bounce harmlessly off the ice-like shell coating the man's skin.

Hanson growled at him, low and guttural, and Ward squared his shoulders against a shiver as the room became colder. He felt Skye's hand on his arm and, though he resisted for a moment, eventually let her pull him back into the med bay when he realised she wouldn't go without him.

Not that it was much protection for either of them.

The shattered glass wall had yet to be replaced, leaving Hanson an easy route to his intended target.

Jess.

The woman, now huddled under a blanket behind the ARC Captain, had her eyes squeezed shut, hands clutching her head as though she were in pain.

Squaring his jaw, Ward knew what he was about to do would earn him a lecture from Coulson if not a black mark in his file. He knew his boss preferred it when they could save everybody but he knew it wasn't an option, not with Hanson. The man had already killed too many people and Ward would be damned if he'd let him kill another.

Lifting his gun, he took aim at the ice man's head, the one place he hadn't already tried firing. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the ARC Captain do the same.

As if pre-planned, the two men fired simultaneously.

The first bullet took Hanson by surprise and caused a dint in his ice-armour; the second was a direct hit.

Features frozen in a stunned expression, Hanson stood for a few moments before falling backwards, crashing to the floor with a thud that seemed to shake the plane.

As Ward was trying to process the events, he heard a gasp from behind him, heard Skye and Becker call Jess's name seconds before Skye frantically shouted for Simmons.

The ARC Field Co-ordinator lay motionless, her eyes blank and chest unmoving, seemingly as dead as the man he'd helped kill.

**

In reality it didn't take long for Simmons to revive Jess but to Becker, it felt like a year had passed since he'd turned to see her fall to the floor.

Dead.

Technically, she'd been dead for four minutes, her heart stopping at the same time as Hanson's.

Simmons theorised it was the connection between them, or the sudden severing of the connection, that was too much for Jess's body to handle. Becker didn't care; all that mattered was that her heart was beating again, her breathing steady as she lay once more on the bed in the medical bay, hooked up to an array of machinery.

Déjà vu, again, and he was starting to get tired of it.

He couldn't wait until she woke up, until she smiled at him and reassured him she was okay.

Until they could get off the godforsaken plane and head back to the ARC, where he swore to himself he wouldn't let her out of his sight and would move heaven and earth to keep her safe.

"You should tell her." Skye, his constant companion in keeping vigil over the Field Co-ordinator, sounded as exhausted as he felt. "She was going to, when you woke up, but I guess things got a little crazy around here and she didn't get the chance."

"Things always seem crazy around here," Becker pointed out, arching an eyebrow when she only shrugged in answer. "And I thought our jobs were strange."

"Yeah, about that." Skye smiled at him, but it was tired and didn't reach her eyes. "What is it that you guys do again? Something to do with anomalies...?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he started to say, catching himself with a roll of his eyes as he remembered all he'd seen in the short space of time he'd known the ARC team. "Or maybe you would, but Lester would fire me if I did."

"Wouldn't fire you." The retort came from the bed, weak but still the sweetest thing Becker had heard. "Might things difficult for a while but he won't fire you."

"Jess." His hand tightened on hers and the other woman in the room was forgotten about. He missed Skye's smirk as she got up and left the room, oblivious to everything but the feel of Jess's hand – Jess's _warm_ hand, wrapped in his own. "We've got to stop doing this."

"I will if you will."

**

It felt odd to be saying goodbye, in a way. Though they'd only known each other for a matter of days, they'd grown surprisingly close. Jess and Skye had already exchanged phone numbers and email addresses, promising to keep in touch. Ward and Becker exchanged small nods and then commiserating eye rolls as the women in front of them hugged once again.

"Come on, Jess. You don't know what Connor's done to the ADD while you've been gone."

It was apparently the right thing to say, as Jess finally stepped back from Skye, her expression a little worried. The SHIELD team watched the couple get into the car that had been sent for them, with Jess waving as it drove off.

Fitz-Simmons wandered back inside, heading towards their lab as they bickered good-naturedly. Coulson disappeared in the direction of his office, while May went to the cockpit to prepare the plane for takeoff.

Skye lingered on the ramp until the car was out of sight, a sigh escaping her as she watched her new found friend drive out of her life. Understanding that friends had been few and far between for the woman, Ward waited with her, giving her a moment to compose herself before clearing his throat, reminding her of his presence.

"You still owe me a game of battleship," he told her when she looked at him. Her surprise at realising he was still there doubled at the offer and he shrugged a shoulder. "You said best two out of three. We didn't get the second match finished."

Skye grinned, the first genuine grin he'd seen from her in a long time, and the duo turned to walk back up the ramp together. "Don't think I'm going to take it easy on you," she warned as the doors began to close behind them.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

And with that, things returned to normal for both the ARC and SHIELD teams. As normal as their lives ever seemed to get.

**

Finis

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. I hope someone got some sort of enjoyment out of it!


End file.
